Leading in Times of Challenge with Nancy Mwirotsi

Nancy Mwirotsi is founder and executive director of PI 515. PI 515 works to introduce students throughout Greater Des Moines (DSM) to STEM curriculum — including refugee and under served youth — by teaching them how to code, innovate and think critically.

Nancy Mwirotsi’s Leadership Tips

Nancy learned that to build something you need to learn how to create long-term partnerships and to knock on doors. As a person of color, Nancy says she didn’t have the connections to influential people that she needed in the beginning. She had to learn to call CEOs and ask to meet her for coffee. She was rejected many times, but her invitation was accepted by some who were interested in hearing what she wanted to accomplish.

Other challenges Nancy faced included sacrifice to concentrate on PI 515 full-time. Now in its sixth year, Nancy says she had a big learning curve. Her motivation came from looking at her own kids and wanting them to see that when you run into challenges, you don’t give up but keep looking for solutions. While the organization was imperfect in the beginning, Nancy was able to build a community to help build PI 515 into what it is now.

The Leading in Times of Challenge podcast was previously produced by the Greater Des Moines Partnership. To learn more about community events and leadership, check out The Partnership blog.